Smartphones overtake laptops as most popular devices to go online

A report by the regulatory body, said 2014 was the year in which the smartphone overtook the laptop as the favourite device for getting online.

Last year, 40 percent of Britons preferred to use a laptop and just 22 per cent a smartphone. This addictive nature means that nearly one-in-three UK smartphone users check their phone within five minutes of waking up in the morning, a figure that rises to 48% for the youngest age bracket.

The study also found that users now spend nearly twice as long online on their smartphones than on laptops and personal computers.

Laptops have become more appropriate for work and school-related projects and the recent survey conducted by researchers at Ofcom comes to confirm this tendency.

By the end of 2014, 23.6 million people were using 4G mobile internet and more than half of them were using it to shop online.

The increasing use of smartphones and tablets – as opposed to PCs – is boosting overall time spent online, Ofcom said.

Ofcom compiles its Communications Market Report every year to monitor the UK’s habits.

Smartphones are in the pockets of 66 percent of the population, which is up from 39 percent in 2012 and the surge of usage has been driven by speedy 4G mobile broadband.

Smartphones have edged ahead of laptops for the first time as the preferred devices for connecting online in the UK, a report by Ofcom says. In the younger 16-24 group, 89 percent of users snap photos with their smartphone, falling to 60 percent for older groups.

Meanwhile, take-up of 4G service among smartphone owners has risen by 25 per cent between 2014 and 2015 to reach 55 per cent, higher than the UK average of 45 per cent.

Surprisingly, 90% of 16-24 year olds in Northern Ireland own a smartphone. This is having an impact on TV viewing, with many consumers turning to online streaming services instead.

Jane Rumble, head of media research at Ofcom, said: “You can see these devices are becoming more and more an important vital hub of information and communication throughout the day”.

But they even watch more TV and video clips online (57 per cent compared to 40 per cent) and make more video calls and voice calls over the internet (28 per cent compared to 20 per cent).

Meanwhile, fewer people watched TV in the traditional way, with a net drop of 34 per cent in the number of people who watched it at the time it was broadcast.